Where did all the cool stuff go?

So, I told my wife I found my own facebook site to go to. I figure that facebook is a huge waste of time for a lot of people. I found a website that I could literally spend hours looking at, wasting my time so that's why I call it my facebook. On this site there is a post about a bunch of photos from the past and I find myself wishing I was around when these pictures were taken. They are all before my time but I can imagine what they would be like. I always said if I could choose a time to be born it would of been in the 40's. Pretty much when my Dad was born. I love this first picture. It shows an auto parts store back before there was autozone and o'reillys. In fact before there was computers. You could tell the guy you needed brakes for your impala and he didn't ask you if that was a Ford or Chevy or ask you what engine it had because that's the only way to look up brakes on the computer. Just check out all the cool stuff on display. You could spend a whole day just hanging out here. We had an auto parts store that I went to when I was younger and I guess that's about as close as I got to this one. It was called Prime Source Auto. The guy knew me and my Dad by name and always had or could get the parts we needed and they were good quality also. Nowadays you end up at autozone and wait in line to get the parts you need only after anyone who calls gets helped first. Then you are usually helped by someone who knows nothing about cars, the quality of the parts are crap but they carry a lifetime warranty (if you like to change them every year) and then you wait in another line to pay for the stuff. Give me a parts store that actually has great customer service and is knowledgeable and I will gladly pay 3 times as much.

 This picture actually looks like a modern day dealership service center back in the day. I would of  loved to work here. I wonder if the service was better back then than it is today? I think people back then took pride in their work. I could be wrong but in my daydreaming world they did!

 This picture reminds me of the movie American Graffiti when John Melnar was talking about the good old days when "It took a couple hours and a tank full of gas just to make one circuit!" What an awesome time it would of been to be here. Hot rods could be built fairly cheap and at home. Kids hung out and actually socialized instead of staying home and playing video games or tweeting. You actually wanted to get your drivers license and usually drove before you turned 16. Most kids I talk to today don't even have an interest in getting their drivers license at 16. In fact they did a poll and asked kids if they could get a car or a cell phone which one would they choose. 90 percent said the cell phone. AAARRRGGGG, whats the world coming too??????

 This next photo is just too cool. The drive in movie, an old airplane on the screen and an old super cool train in the back ground. I wish I could blow this up and print it. I would hang it on my garage wall.

 I love old gas stations. They intrigue me. They were usually full service and had a garage with them if you needed your car fixed. The attendants usually wore nice uniforms and gave you good service. I have a faint memory of full service stations but its a long ago memory and it was nothing like the one pictured here..

 I love this photo. I built a nova back when I was single and a buddy of mine was always over helping me. I have some pictures like this and maybe someday they will be put on a website and labeled vintage shots from days gone by. I bet when these 2 guys were getting this picture taken they didn't know there would be people envious of them. What a cool hot rod.

Another old garage photo. They are upper class with a crane and everything. This is really old, just check out the car.

 More parts store photos. Lots of oil cans. Cars used a lot more oil back then.

What a great shop!

 Here is an old speed shop photo. In speed shops you could get any high performance parts you needed and usually get them installed if you needed it. Awesome photo, I love it. The hubcaps are awesome.

 Here is another service station. If I didn't have to worry about money, I would open me a service station with full service and a garage just like the old days. I think some people would go for the full service nowadays and I think it would be a neat place to own and run.

I guess I was born too late. I don't really embrace technology like a lot of people do. I don't need a huge flat screen TV and the newest IPad on the market. I do own a cell phone and I enjoy surfing the net but I also enjoy driving to work listening only to my engine run and I love anything that's old and shows the awesome craftsmanship of yesteryear. I think I will always drive a 40 plus year old car everyday and love it. I guess I don't do a very good job keeping up with the Joneses. Oh well, It reminds me of a great song though. Enjoy!